From Diagnosis to Surgery–9 Long Days

As I write this Aiden, my red-headed, 7 yo Golden-Irish boy has just gotten out of surgery.  He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the right wrist nine days ago and just had his leg amputated all the way to the shoulder.  He has come out of anesthesia and is doing well.

I know many people have faced this diagnosis and the decisions that come with it.  I remember how I felt when the vet told me the diagnosis and what the recommended treatment was.  I was heartbroken to think Aiden would lose his leg.  Having been a teacher for 34 years, I was not going to just take the word of the vet without doing a lot of homework on osteosarcoma.  I wanted to know everything–its cause, its prognosis, and its treatment.  I also wanted to know what I needed to do to give Aiden the best and longest life possible.

The first reality I faced was the fact that osteosarcoma in dogs is very aggressive and that it was likely that Aiden had micro metastases already; x-rays showed clear lungs and his blood tests all came back normal so I knew I had to make a decision pretty quickly.  It has been nine days between diagnosis and consultation with the oncologist–nine long days where I imagined the cancer cells multiplying rapidly from thousands to millions to billions.  I have a great vet who went to bat for us and was able to convince the oncologist that I was serious about going ahead with the surgery before the cancer could do more damage.  Our appointment with the oncologist was at 8:00–by 11:00 Aiden was in surgery.

I have read many stories online about dogs who have lived–and are still living–good lives on 3 legs.  Finding Tripawds.com was a great help.  I now know what to expect over the next two weeks of recovery and hope I am prepared to support Aiden as he finds his new center of gravity.  He has always been a happy–and somewhat nutty–dog.  Although I have three other dogs–another Golden-Irish boy and two Golden girls–Aiden is the one bonded most closely to me.  He is my shadow.

In two weeks we will begin chemotherapy.  It will last for about 15 weeks.  Aiden will also be doing some physical therapy to help him lose weight and strengthen his remaining legs.  We are also going to try immunotherapy which is a new treatment still in trial. They are sending tissue samples to a lab where they will make an immune-boosting serum from Aiden’s specific cancer cells which will be given to him to help his own immune system fight the cancer it is already battling.  Aiden also qualifies for the clinical trials being done in Houston for a new osteosarcoma vaccine if we choose to go that route.

I am so blessed to have a great vet, a great oncologist, and a great dog with a great attitude.  Together we are going to get through this and maybe help other doggy victims in the future.  With the amazing results from the clinical trials on both the vaccine and immunotherapy, there is hope that dogs diagnosed with osteosarcoma can live a quality life for 3-4 years after diagnosis.  We’ll take that any day of the week!